Toronto stocks finished higher Tuesday, as a revival in gold shares snapped a five-day losing streak. The S&P/TSX composite index added 29.93 points to 6,474.04.

The TSX Gold index jumped 3.78% after an Arab-language television channel said it had received an audio tape from Osama bin Laden urging Muslim solidarity with Iraq.

Kinross Gold added 98¢ to $11.55, while Glamis Gold climbed $1.08 to $18.33.

Earlier in the day U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said continuing uncertainty about a possible war in Iraq is hindering economic growth and making forecasts difficult. He said there is also a possibility that the uncertainty may be hiding the fact that the economy is weaker than suspected.

Toronto’s heavily weighed financial services index also closed higher after Fairfax Financial Holdings surged $17.25 to $112.25 following its biggest-ever annual profit — $415.7 million.

Active included Nortel Networks, down 4¢ at $3.58. Zarlink Semiconductor lost 31¢to $4.68, Inco gained 85¢ to $32.20 and Rogers Communications rose 57¢ to $13.40.

Noranda shares were down 20¢ to $13.72 after reporting a loss of $700 million in 2002.

Shares in Shoppers Drug Mart rose 39¢ to $23.69 after the company reported a sharp profit increase to $62 million in the fourth quarter.

Toronto volume was 186.7 million shares worth $2.47 billion. Advances beat declines 581 to 518, with 192 unchanged.

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index closed down 0.26 at 1094.48

Trading was heavy on a volume of 36.0 million shares worth $14.5 million, with 219 advances, 229 declines and 547 issues unchanged.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 77 points to 7,843.11. The Nasdaq composite was down 1.17 points to 1,295.51, while the S&P 500 closed 6.76 points lower at 829.21.

The Canadian dollar gained 0.02¢ to US65.39¢.